Instagram Is Removing Fake Followers, Comments and Likes

Instagram announced it will be purging inauthentic likes, follows and comments from accounts that use third-party apps to bolster their numbers. Utilizing a machine learning tool, the social media platform will begin identifying accounts that use these services, which directly violate its Community Guidelines and Terms of Use.

Those identified accounts will be notified within the app that Instagram has removed the inauthentic traffic, alongside a prompt to change their passwords. “These new measures will be ongoing,” Instagram says in a blog post. “[And] accounts that continue to use third-party apps to grow their audience may see their Instagram experience impacted.”

The move comes to help discourage users from giving another company their login information as Instagram transitions into a platform for brands and influencers to advertise.